New(ish) Books...with a NOVA Connection

NEW(ISH) BOOKS...WITH A NOVA CONNECTION

RIF of NOVA celebrates new(ish) books by writers and illustrators with a Northern Virginia area(ish) connection, with interviews, background, and author information. If you have published a book for, about, or that helps children...and you have a NOVA connection (lived here, worked here, born here!), please let us know! We'd love to talk with you and introduce our community to your new(ish) work! Email us at rifnova@gmail.com.

Maria Gianferrari and her beloved rescue Becca (photo: Monogram Arts)

I'm a Nature Girl at Heart!

So writes Maria Gianferrari, a "picture book reading/writing, tea-drinking, dog-loving, bird-watching" former resident of Northern Virginia who now resides in Massachusetts with her scientist husband and dog, Maple. In a house encircled by trees, Maria writes fiction and non-fiction books that "honor our bonds with creatures both domestic and wild and that celebrate the natural world around us." Many of her books star dogs as main characters and were inspired by her late and beloved rescue dog Becca. Some of her dog-centered picture books are the Penny & Jelly books, Officer Katz and Houndini, Hello Goodbye Dog, Operation Rescue Dog, and the forthcoming (April 2022) Being a Dog, a Tail of Mindfulness from HarperKids books. To Dogs, With Love is scheduled for release in 2023 and will be a love letter to therapy dogs for all the joy and support they bring.

Maria Gianferrari's most recent nonfiction book -- and our December 2021 choice for New(ish) Books with a NOVA Connection -- is Be a Tree!. Illustrated by Felicita Sala, the book captures the majesty of trees and what humans can learn from them. A Kirkus starred review noted: "This book has the advantage of lyrical, accessible poetry and vibrant watercolors from an ever changing palette...Strong heartwood." A Publisher's Weekly starred review said: "By foregrounding living beings that exemplify grace, strength, and endurance, Gianferrari gives readers a new way to think about their individual and collective existences."

Other recent nonfiction Gianferrari titles include Whoo-Ku Haiku (Putnam), the story of a great horned owl family told in haiku, and Play Like an Animal (Lerner/Millbrook) which explains why critters splash, race, twirl, and chase. According to School Library Journal, Play Like an Animal is a "fun way for children to realize that animals play just like them." You and the Bowerbird, scheduled for release in 2023, follows two bowerbirds and their very colorful adventures.

No doubt more books are planned by this prolific author! Follow her by clicking here.

Credit -- Publisher, Abrams; Author, Maria Gianferrari; Illustrator, Felicita Sala

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Calling All Superheroes!

July 2021's featured author has a new book! Heather Gutierrez has just published the second book in what she hopes will be her "Hard to Sleep" collection: It's Hard to Sleep When You're a Superhero. In this new edition, readers can join William and his mama as they explore how kindness and strength of heart can help set the universe at ease and finally allow the book's superhero and his pals to enjoy a good night's sleep! Heather says the book's main character is based on her real-life son William. At age 5, she says, he is all about kindness and finding ways to encourage other children to help each other by being nicer to each other.

If you have a little superhero in your life and want to encourage kindness and resolving conflict through positive action, this book is for you! Find it by clicking right here!

Courtesy: Author Heather Gutierrez; illustrator Eva Rodríguez

Superhero William Gutierrez

"I had to learn to speak dog!"

Andre Gatling has had a long and successful career in the entertainment business as a stand-up comedian, among other roles. But his real love in life is rescuing and training an array of animals, particularly pit bulls. Andre has spent well over 25 years working with animals and much more time growing up around pit bulls. He realized he had a unique approach to changing the behavior of aggressive dogs from his personal experiences with dogs and his time working with quarantined dogs in animal shelters. In his own words, Andre will tell you, "Aggression in a dog is similar to aggression in a human. We're both scared of what we don't understand, and our need to protect leads to aggression. Changing that aggression in a dog is more complex because the dog doesn't speak English, so I had to learn to speak dog." And in the process, he also wrote a children's book: Penelope's Bully. Andre tells his story in this interview with RIF of NOVA.

Why did you write this book?

Honestly, it all kinda happened by accident. I would run around performing standup, and I had an act where I would argue with a pitbull about who went through more discrimination than the other. I thought that act would be a great adult animation considering I was already filming pilots to pitch to TV networks. A literary agent that I knew thought it would be a good kids book and could potentially help my advocating for that particular breed at the same time.

How did you make it happen? Were you self-published?

Well, that agent had presented it to a few major publishers that were very interested but one wanted to change the breed of dog and the other wanted to change the similarity of the kid and the dog being discriminated against. As a comedian, we like to stay true to our truth whether it's hard for people to digest or not so I shopped around for a publisher who would share my vision regardless of subject that I was addressing. Mascot Books not only shared my vision, but they advised me on the best route to take the story without changing the true purpose behind it.

How did you arrange for illustrations and who did them?

I have to admit, I had read a lot of children's books to get the gist of how these books were written and created. I knew I was using real people and true events to create my story so I wanted a very realistic artist but still fun within their illustrations. Agus Prajago stood out to me from the very beginning. His work was so vibrant and fresh, I was more worried if we were going to be able to commission him considering how he was a major commodity in this arena.

What do you hope to "teach" kids through the book?

There's so many different lessons in the book that I try to relay to not just the children but also the adult reading it. When I work with people and their dogs, the main lesson for them is Compassion, Empathy, and Understanding. I hoped to create that with this story for the kid and the adult. A lot of times, we have perceptions of something we fear without having a true understanding of it, whether it be a black kid from the projects or a pitbull. This has a lot to do with why we bully altogether. I felt If I could put someone, indirectly, in that situation from a story, they may see how they could be bullying something else totally different than the story itself and maybe find sympathy to change their ways for the better.

Did you ever hope to be an author?

Honestly, I never aspired to be an author. If anything maybe more a writer for comedy or a journalist if I had the immediate choice. When I had an article published in the Post, that too was an accident. My English teacher basically challenged me to do it because he saw something in me that I didn't even see. The only thing I would write back then were lyrics to become a rapper, lol!

What has surprised you most about this journey?

Outside of the constant messages of love for the book and the thanks from dog lovers, the biggest surprise has been the intellect of the children who've read the book and relay what they thought of the story, I purposely hide a lot of things that referenced racism and how it can affect the victim, within the illustrations for the adult to understand that I felt a child wouldn't necessarily get because they wouldn't have had the experiences to quite process. And to my surprise, children understood the gravity of it...some more so than the adults.

Is the story based on characters from your own life?

The book has people and dogs that are real and the stories are real situations that me, Penelope and dogs have gone through. Penelope is my longtime girlfriend and her mother who's always been a big pitbull lover is actually Zelda Robinson (who now past). The dog catcher is Penelope's actual father Harry Robinson who also loved his dogs. Chloe and Jordan in the book are my actual dogs, and Cinnamon is their actual mother. I wasn't able to save Cinnamon in real life and she was euthanized in a shelter along with three of her puppies. The story includes my grief at not being able to save her but also my promise to make sure Chloe and Jordan live a loving life. I tear up anytime I think about all the dogs I couldn't save so maybe if I save the humans, it'll make it better for dogs in the future.

A RIF connection!

Growing up my mom would always give me money to buy books from the RIF order sheet in our school, and it's so humbling and such an honor to be connected to you guys now!!!

It Started on a Post-it Note...and Now It's a Book!

Heather Gutierrez will tell you that in a hectic life, finding time to write an idea on a Post-it note may indicate the idea is important. If the idea gradually turns into a full-fledged story that you tweak and revisit over and over, it could REALLY be important. In fact, it could turn into a book! In Heather's case, that's exactly what happened. From pink Post-it note to published book...It's Hard to Sleep When You're an Artist is now a reality! And it's our July RIF of NOVA local author book pick.

An early childhood educator from Haymarket, Virginia, Heather Gutierrez spent over 20 years in the classroom and as teacher coach and preschool administrator. That, and having two children of her own, taught her the immeasurable value of reading with young children. As an author, her goal is "to help create connections between children and their caregivers, while exploring the world around them or dreaming up a worlds of their own."

A dream world of her own is the setting for this sweet nighttime story, which was inspired by Heather's then five-year-old daughter, Lily. Lily's passion for painting and her desire to "visit" someplace new each night before bed yielded a series of mother-daughter "conversations," during which a little girl asks questions like:

"Can we be mermaids together and sing and play with pink dolphins in our dreams, Mama?”

“I can’t wait to swim with you, my sweet mermaid,” Mama replies.

Each page of this new book yields a new dreamscape -- vibrant rainbow paintings in the sky, magical fields with sparkling butterfly wings, and mystical beaches where wild horses run and dance.

Getting to a published book was a bit of a dream in and of itself. Heather had already written several children's books but had not ever published one. One sleepless night, she stumbled upon a children's book editing site: https://www.wildflowerbooks.net/. "I decided to email the owner Shannon and inquire -- nothing to lose right? As luck would have it, my insomnia pairs nicely with her Australian home time zone, and she quickly responded. Before I knew it, my manuscript was off to the races of editing and polishing."

Courtesy: Author Heather Gutierrez; illustrator Eva Rodríguez

The next step was to choose an illustrator. From a list of choices, Heather and Lily chose Eva Rodríguez, an illustrator based in the south of Spain. Lily was so excited because Eva was able to base several of the book's illustrations on Lily's original paintings. To know more about Eva and her art, please visit: https://artworkbyevarodriguez.com.

What's next? See above! Heather published a sequel in her "Hard to Sleep" collection with her five-year-old son William as the main character. It's Hard to Sleep When You're A Superhero was published in November 2021. Meanwhile, Heather is reading to children at classes and events throughout Northern Virginia. She also encourages budding artists to take part in her website's "Artist's Corner," where children can post their artwork. Find information about that, about Heather, and how to buy It's Hard to Sleep When You're an Artist on her website: https://www.heathergutierrezauthor.com/.

Heather -- and Lily -- had a lot of fun and learned a lot from their book publishing experience. Their best takeaway: "You can do anything if you dream it!" So true!

Heather and now 6-year-old Lily Gutierrez celebrate their new book -- perfect for bedtime reading!

June is, er, cicadas are busting out all over! And there's a children's book for that!

Yep! In June 2021, we feature a particularly timely work about the every-17-year Brood X cicada onslaught in the Mid-Atlantic! The book -- Cecily Cidada -- came about in 2004, the last time the cicadas paid the region a visit. The book has been refreshed with a new cover and new illustrations in a recently released 2021 edition. The book moves readers through the cicada's life cycle and takes the fear out of the process, guided by a little cicada nymph named Cecily!

Who could not love the poetic descriptions as Cecily begins life in a:
“dreary, earthen hole ‘neath the sassafras tree
On Huidekoper Street in Washington, D.C.”

And continuing:
“In seventeen years you’ll know what to do
And something amazing will happen to you.”

The book concludes with an acknowledgement of the 17-year time gap before the next amazing cicada spectacular takes place:
When you see a cicada, please give her a smile
‘Cause you may not see one again for a while.
Just look at the grown-up who’s reading to you.
When the cicadas come back, you’ll be a grown up, too!

In 2004, little Eevee Murdoch saw a cicada at a Washington, DC park and, well, freaked out. Evee's mom and grandmother, Kita Helmetag Murdock and Patsy Helmatag respectively, got to talking about Evee's reaction to the strange red-eyed creatures. There should be a book to help explain the cicada phenomenon to other frightened children, they said to each other on a road trip.

Discovering there wasn't one, they wrote, illustrated, and self-published one themselves. The mother-daughter team thought they would never sell out the minimum order of 4,000 books required for the first run. But when 7,000 books sold out, they knew they had a local hit on their hands.

In advance of the 2021 Brood X arrival and stuck at home due to the pandemic, Patsy totally redrew the illustrations, bringing even closer attention to the miracle of this periodical event. And the book is now available via Amazon and several local bookstores. The Washington Post featured the book and its genesis in an article on April 28, found here.

Originally from Washington, DC, author and illustrator Patsy Helmetag now lives and works in Annapolis. Daughter Kita Helmetag Murdock writes YA fiction and teaches in Boulder, Colorado.

The Cecily Cicada cover -- 2021 edition

A page from the newly released Cecily Cicada

Kita Helmetag Murdock (l) and Patsy Helmetag

Additional titles by Patsy Helmetag. Click each photo to learn more about each one!

Squeakestered: Authored by Patsy and granddaughter Noni while sequestered 2,000 miles apart during the pandemic

Slothy and Nomi: One small sloth’s struggle with slumpiness and the girl who helped him sit up straight

The TransAm Grannies: Patsy Helmetag doesn't like to bike, but she rode cross country and published this tale!

I write sad books...and I love it!

Few readers would describe Lizzy Mason's second YA novel, Between the Bliss and Me, as a happy book. It tackles some pretty tough issues -- from mental illness to the ups and downs of young romance to the impact of family history on future goals. As 18-year-old Sydney contemplates college at NYU, she comes face to face with the reality that her father has schizophrenia and lives on the streets of New York City. What could this mean for Sydney? Is mental illness in her future, too? In order to learn more, she seizes the opportunity to get to know him, to understand who he is, and learn what may lie in store for her.

Between the Bliss and Me is Lizzy's second novel after The Art of Losing, a debut work that explores issues of addiction, sisterhood, and loss. A third novel is in production. "I write sad books, and I love it! I feel like that's what I was meant to do," Lizzy notes. "I write about mental health because that's something the people don't like to talk about in daily life." Her hard-hitting contemporary YA novels, with realistic and authentic characters, spring from her own life experiences and deep research. "I've never done as much research (about mental health) as I did for this book," she says, "because I wanted to make sure I got it right. It made the book much more realistic."

Despite the serious topic, Lizzy's sophomore book is "filled with compassion and hope," wrote one reviewer, continuing, "Readers will finish the last page knowing that love, acceptance, and self-care are the keys to living one's best life." Publisher's Weekly noted: "Mason’s care in portraying the complexity of the mental disorder, as well as her exploration of genetic legacy and inherited emotional baggage, is laudable.” Lizzy says Bliss will appeal to teen and young adult readers and be useful for teachers and librarians as well. "It's the kind of book that librarians and educators will want to recommend to the right students."

Lizzy Mason lives with her two cats in Alexandria, Virginia (acknowledging that they are distracting and not always helpful to her writing process!). Between the Bliss and Me is available for purchase by clicking this link.

Author Lizzy Mason (photo: Meredith Rich)

Between the Bliss and Me is Lizzy Mason's second YA novel, with a third coming out soon.

In this wide-ranging and honest interview featured by One More Page, an independent bookstore in Arlington, Lizzy Mason shares some of the more serious parts of her own life, including being a sad teenager, dealing with depression and anxiety, and more recently the death of her husband Karl. Lizzy is interviewed by NYT bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer.

Breast Cancer -- Two Books, Three Voices

When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is not the only one affected. Children are affected, too, even if they don't always -- or don't know how to -- express their feelings of confusion, helplessness, and sadness. Fifth-grader Madison Lyublanovits was quite troubled by her mom's breast cancer diagnosis in May 2019 and the treatment that followed. As she watched her mom go through chemotherapy and radiation treatments for stage one ductal carcinoma (a common form of breast cancer), she and her stuffed monkey Mollie stood by her mom's side, trying to figure out what was going on and how to help.

Out of many conversations, a book was born. Okay Mommy, I Will Help You: Oh No! My Mom Has Breast Cancer! is a children’s picture book completely based off of Madison’s experiences and written by the young author. It's a unique perspective from a youth's point-of-view on how to deal with a parent's cancer diagnosis, and it provides a candid but inspiring message for kids who may be faced with a similar circumstance.

“Everything’s literally verbatim," said mom Shon Lyublanovits. "I think she held a lot of that stuff in and wasn’t really sure how to process it all. So putting that book together helped with that.” While the focus is on the author's personal experience with her mother's cancer diagnosis, this book can be a source of guidance and comfort for children who have parents, grandparents, siblings, or any family member or friend who has been diagnosed with a serious illness. The book has been endorsed by the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, the American Breast Cancer Foundation, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Sharsheret.org, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Author Madison goes to Covington-Harper Elementary School in Prince William County. In addition to writing, she is a dancer and loves to sing. Madison's book may be purchased via www.verkallosmedia.com and through Amazon at amazon.com/author/mnl. Note: Madison's mom Shon has joined RIF of NOVA as a new board member. Please see Shon's profile on our board member page!

Off Our Chests is featured as a top 10 book to read in May by the Washington Post!

Dr. John Marshall used to see breast cancer as the enemy. As a gastrointestinal cancer specialist at Georgetown University, he envied the amount of attention other oncologists and medical leaders put on breast cancer, wondering why the cancers he treated — which are the deadliest — were not an equal priority in standard training and funding. But, as he notes, if he had been successful in driving attention away from breast cancer, Liza Marshall — his wife, mother of his two children, and love of his life for 40 years — would be dead. In 2006, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a type that can be more aggressive and difficult to treat.

In their memoir Off Our Chests: A Candid Tour Through the World of Cancer (IdeaPress Publishing), John and Liza provide an intimate, and sometimes even humorous, look at cancer treatment as husband and wife through the eyes of Liza, the patient, John, the caretaker, and occasionally, their children Charlie and Emma. "One thing we learned during Liza's diagnosis and treatment is that transparency and honesty are key when talking with your children about a cancer diagnosis," John noted. "When children know something is going on but don't know what it is, their imaginations can run wild. Explanations don't need to be complicated though. Simple and matter-of-fact works well."

“The emotional load of cancer for all those involved is frequently overwhelming,” the Northern Virginia couple said in a statement. “We wrote the book to help others learn about what a diagnosis of cancer means for a patient, for a family, for a caregiver, and for an oncologist so that those who walk that path together might find both support and insight to help light the way.” Their book is available at: https://www.offourchestsbook.com/buy.

Happy Happy After!

Local author Barbara Leary has three granddaughters...and each one has a book in her name or honor. All three books are our picks for March 2021. "Nothing goes together better than kids and stories," Barbara notes, "so having little ones in my life gives me an opportunity to share my love of storytelling. Storytelling became our 'thing' — a way to keep the girls entertained and encourage their own creativity and imagination. These days, they do a lot of the storytelling themselves. All I need to do is give them a prompt ('Tell me all about your day, but make half of it up!') and off they go."

Barbara Leary grew up in Arlington and Fairfax and now lives in Purcellville. She is a management consultant specializing in change communication and teaches graduate-level communications courses at Georgetown University. For more about Barbara and her books, here's the link!

I wrote Caroline and the Not-Mama for my granddaughter Caroline, who regarded me with great suspicion for the first two years of her life. The very sight of me coming through the front door would cause her to scream and run to her mother. Of course, she had pieced together that my presence likely meant her parents were leaving but apparently hadn't yet worked out that they planned to return. I eventually won her over with oranges and books — just like the story. Now Caroline is happy to see me and always wants me to read her book. It’s a good book for talking about feelings.

I wrote Virginia Loves Dogs for Virginia, who is every bit as high-spirited as the protagonist and just as crazy about dogs — so much so that I worried she’d get bitten. So in creating the character Virginia, I just took my granddaughter's irrepressible, cheerful quality and exaggerated it and made the book about doggie manners. When I was reading an early draft to Virginia, I asked her how the story should end. She didn't miss a beat: "Happy happy after!" she exclaimed. I used that as the title of the collection.

The Climbing Tree is dedicated to Eleanor. When she was about three, just as in the book, we must have passed the tree in her front yard a hundred times before realizing she was just tall enough to climb it — with a little help. It wasn't easy for her, but Eleanor is nothing if not persistent. Pretty soon, she was racing home from school and climbing up her tree, where she would stay until her parents called her to dinner. When the family moved, it broke her heart to leave her beloved tree, and that became the basis for this story. The Climbing Tree took first prize (out of 1,800 entries) in the Writer’s Digest annual Self-Published Book Awards.

"The Accidental Author"

February 2021's new book picks are...Pretty Hair and Everyone Just Like Me, both written by Northern Virginia author Carylee Carrington. Pretty Hair is Carylee Carrington's latest book. After watching two of her family members grow up with hair that differed from their peers, she wanted to ensure they knew just how special they were and how important it is for them to love the hair they were born with.

This picture book helps young girls understand there are an amazing variety of styles and textures of hair and no one type is the definition of “pretty.” Pretty Hair was reviewed in an article in Northern Virginia magazine. Find that here.

Carylee Carrington's first book is Everyone Just Like Me. When her then seven-year-old son came home from school to say that other children on the playground had bullied him over skin color, writer Carylee went into action...and wrote a book! The new book, however, was not about race. Everyone, Just Like Me is about a boy named Joshua who has to get glasses. In wanting not to be different due to his glasses, the boy wishes for everyone to be the same. When hilarity and confusion ensue, Joshua discovers there may be a problem with his request. A picture book for children, Everyone, Just Like Me encourages kids to embrace their uniqueness. "Through Joshua’s special wish, readers learn that individual differences are what makes each person special.”

Read more about Carylee Carrington and her first book here. She also hosts a podcast to introduce new authors to the Northern Virginia community. For more, follow her on Facebook@readwithcarylee and visit readwithcarylee.com. Carylee is a member of the RIF of NOVA board.

"Please stop saying broken home!"

This, from family law attorney, mediator, and coparenting coach Sheila Adams Gardner in a recent article. "The term 'broken home,' she says, "is still commonly used to describe families with divorced or separated parents. 'Broken home' is almost always a misnomer as it invalidates the child’s actual family experience to describe the parents’ legal relationship. Worse, it unfairly portends a future of social/emotional dysfunction for the child."

Sheila knows what she is talking about because she grew up as one of four daughters of parents who divorced in 1975. "Our family was the only divorced family we knew at the time. Yet, without models, books, or coaches, our parents heroically managed to coparent with the utmost respect for each other and us, fiercely committed to maintaining our strong family bond. Our parents' romantic relationship ended; but our family relationship did not."

Gardner's practice emphasizes that families are still families even if parents are divorced, separated, not married, or in other ways not together. But when she looked around for children's books that focused on the topic, she could not find any that told successful stories like her own. So she has written two new books on the subject herself. "They were just in my heart, and I had to get them out," she laughed during an interview with RIF of NOVA. "People need to see something positive in order to think, 'If they can do that, I can, too.'" Gardner wrote both books to help children feel positive and "not ashamed," and to help parents make their new-normal family a nurturing and successful one for their children.

Sheila Adams Gardner lives in Northern Virginia and practices in Washington, DC. Our NOVA RIF January 2021 picks are her two books, Made of Love and Two Houses One Family. Both are available on Amazon. Meet Sheila Adams Gardner and learn more about her journey here. Sheila is the newest member of the RIF of NOVA board.

Made of Love was published in November 2020. The book celebrates the cooperative ways in which unmarried parents raise their three-year-old son. Written in rhyme to engage the youngest reader/listener, Made of Love beautifully demonstrates that a family is still a family even when the parents do not live together. Readers can find activity pages to celebrate their own story.

Meet Riley. Riley is a six-year-old who lives in two houses following her parents’ recent divorce. Recounting the loving and thoughtful ways her divorced parents worked together to support her and each other, Riley learns what truly makes her family a family and provides a view of divorce from the eyes of a child of successful coparents. Complete with opportunities for readers to create pictures or stories about their own families, Two Houses One Family is uplifting for both children and parents.

Stone Soup -- Reimagined!

UPDATE: November 2021: Sanchcho Surprise has been selected as a top book that highlights empathy in a list curated by Kimberly Olson Fakih, Senior Editor, Picture Books at School Library Journal. Find that list by clicking here! This is super news! Congratulations!!!
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Our December 2020 book introduction: The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise/ El sancocho sorpresa del buen desconocido, a bilingual retelling of the classic “Stone Soup” tale, set in the Dominican Republic. A stranger who has lost his family to tragedy comes to a rural town, and he is starving. He asks for help, but only a penniless girl, with no knowledge of cooking, will offer it. Together they make sancocho ― a traditional Dominican soup where everything can get thrown into the pot ― using a secret recipe the stranger learned from his grandfather. From seemingly nothing, they create a miraculous banquet and teach the villagers a lasting lesson about generosity, and overcoming fear.

The book was written by John J. McLaughlin. John is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, the University of Virginia, and the University of Iowa, where he earned an MFA in fiction writing. He lived in the Dominican Republic for several years beginning in 1997, first as assistant director of Creighton University’s Semestre Dominicano program, later as a journalist and teacher.

John’s articles have appeared in various periodicals and can be found on his website. His novel, Run in the Fam'ly (University of Tennessee Press, 2007) won multiple literary prizes. John co-founded Education Across Borders, a nonprofit that works in partnership with marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic to co-create lasting solutions to extreme poverty, through educational, community development, and service-learning programs. John's mother Christine McLaughlin and sister Maureen McLaughlin are members of the RIF of NOVA board.

Illustrator Ruddy Núñez

Illustrator Ruddy Núñez is from the Dominican Republic. When he first read John's story, he felt very connected with his DR roots and wanted his illustrations to capture the "environment, the time period, the socio-economic conditions, and the customs of rural, small-town life." He was particularly drawn to the little girl in the story, saying she is "a ray of hope and light." He says the book reaches beyond the Latin American community and is "the story of the Good Samaritan which we all carry within us." Please watch a video of Ruddy Núñez as he draws and describes how the Dominican campo inspired his style of art. The link is here! The cover image is used with permission.

Teachers and parents can find a full resource guide to the The Good Stranger's Sancocho Surprise here! It's full of art activities, songs, and discussion ideas about the various gifts we each bring to the table. And if that weren't enough, RIF of NOVA community members can buy this bilingual book for a 10% discount! Please click here to find that link!

Author John McLaughlin reading to a group of Dominican children

A Playbook for Activism

Our September 2020 pick was relevant to our 2020 Appeal: Votes for Women -- Votes for Books! The Suffragists Playbook, Your Guide to Changing the World is geared to readers 12 and up. What a perfect read for the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

As most know, the women’s suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks. But it resulted in a permanent victory: women’s right to vote. How did the suffragists do it? An eye-opening look at their playbook shows that some of their strategies seem oddly familiar. Women’s marches at inauguration time? Check. Publicity stunts, optics, and influencers? They practically invented them. Petitions, lobbying, speeches, raising money, and writing articles? All of that, too.

From moments of inspiration to some of the movement’s darker aspects--including the racism of some suffragist leaders, violence against picketers, and hunger strikes in jail—this clear-eyed view takes in the roles of key figures: Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and many more.

The book was written and is narrated by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Their friendship goes back generations (to their grandmothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Lindy Boggs, and their mothers, Lynda Robb* and Cokie Roberts), this unique melding of seminal history and smart tactics is sure to capture the attention of activists-in-the-making today. Both authors appeared in a National Archives discussion about their new book that took place in August. To see that interview, click here.

In the words of the authors:

Our foremothers didn’t just make the world a better place; they left future generations an arsenal of tactics to achieve their goals. They learned so much through painful trial and error, and we can’t afford to let it be forgotten—including their mistakes. Starting with virtually no political power or public support, a diverse group of suffragists effected the largest single change to American democracy, without resorting to armed rebellion or overthrowing the government. They were fearless, creative, tenacious, and radical. They were also, just as we are today, deeply flawed and human. We find that liberating. You don’t have to be perfect to make the world a better place; you just have to step up.

As we celebrate the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, a lot of the hoopla focuses on the pageantry: the sashes, banners, hats, and dresses. We love the pageantry; it was an intentional and effective political tactic. But the costumes tend to make it feel like the suffrage movement belongs in another time, when in fact their strategies and rhetoric can be incredibly effective for today’s activists. That’s why this isn’t just a history book, but a playbook.

It was important to us that the tactics be genuinely practical. Some of our children want to save the planet, and some just want to save puppies. We hope the lessons in our book apply to both.

Lucinda Robb was project director for Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789–1920 at the Center for Legislative Archives. She and her family live in Northern Virginia.
Photo: Karen Kasmauski

Rebecca Boggs Roberts is the author of Suffragists in Washington, DC: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote and Historic Congressional Cemetery. She and her family live in Washington, DC.
Photo: Moshe Zusman

*Lynda Robb is a member of the RIF of NOVA Advisory Board.

Cover image used with permission.